Terrorist Advisory

I came across the following "Terrorist Advisory" while I was crusing hyperspace looking for advise on how to bring peace and justice to the world in time for Christmas

Attention all Terrorist: Please take a few minutes from bringing destruction in any and all forms down on the Evil Empire of the USA to sever ties with the following groups at once: PETA, Greenpeace and especially the notorious Catholic Workers Group. It is understandable that you as a murdering infidel would value association with groups that would show concern for animal rights and the environment and especially an organization the would “promote antipoverty efforts and social causes” as their agenda however it was revealed recently that these groups are under the scrutiny of the FBI. Not that the FBI is very good at said scrutiny but it is possible they could get “lucky” and compromise one of your efforts.

Christmas Spirit in Boston

A very real sense of that mysterious notion Christmas Spirit showed up this morning at the Downtown Crossing Orange Line T stop. A gentleman wearing a Santa hat was quietly and beautifully playing Christmas Carols on his guitar. I think it worth noting these were not holiday songs they were of Christmas. He played them with respect. They were superb and enhanced by the venue -- how very fortunate for his regularly changing audience.

Richard Brautigan

Sometimes, well actually often I think about Brautigan. I came accross this poem which I had read a long time ago and it made me smile.

THE SYMBOL by Richard Brautigan

When I was hitch-hiking down to Big Sur,
Moby Dick stopped and picked me up. He was driving
a truckload of sea gulls to San Luis Obispo.
“Do you like being a truckdriver better than you
do a whale?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Moby Dick said. “Hoffa is a lot better
to us whales than Captain Ahab ever was.
The old fart.”

Bach

The Goldberg Variations is without question my favorite music. I listen often to one of the 12 CD’s I own. I try not to miss a live performance. I vacillate between favoring the 55 or 81 Glenn Gould. I have it on guitar, organ, brass, harpsichord and piano. It was the first music I put on my IPod. It is a present I have given to everyone. It is to my mind perfect it never gets old for me after almost 45 years of listening. This music defines variations. But I got to thinking suppose in one of these hypothetical situations I get to heaven and meet J. S. Bach. I tell him how much this music has met to me. And he says “Oh, that I was just fooling around” I mean he could have been.

Christmas Ales

I know the war, the economy, the church, Tom DeLayed, the church, etc. and here I am spouting off on Christmas Ales. But sometimes it’s nice to be concerned with something you can hold in your hand. I have to say this year they are superb. The McGritty’s is outstanding and has a great label. Wachusetts whose stuff seldom excites me is excellent. This year Anchor Stream is as good as it has ever been. I am holding some from the last few years and am anxious to see how they have held up. I’ve had about seven and look forward to the next twenty. And of course this is a short season but up next Barley Wine.

Today is a “Day” we should no longer need.

We have let this administration take billions and billions of our dollars to invade and destroy a country without reason, murder tens of thousand of civilians (as in women, children and old infirm men), rebuild this same country while padding the P&L’s of numerous crony companies and obliterated the standing of the United States as a good global citizen. If we had demanded instead that they spend these billions to rid the world of AIDS we would no longer need AIDS “Day”